1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to systems and methods for managing currency transactions in gaming environments, and in particular, to an inexpensive system for securely cashing in and out of a gaming device.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recent years have seen the expansion of the gaming industry, particularly in non-traditional (casino) environments such as bars, convenience stores, and the like. One of the problems associated with such environments involves the management of currency transactions between players and the management of the non-traditional environment.
Traditional gaming devices accepted coins and paid out winnings in coin. Many of these devices were later replaced by gaming machines that accept both bills and coins, and issue payouts in coins.
Because the payback percentage of gaming machines averages less than 100%, the coin and or paper denomination stored in standalone gaming machines must be regularly emptied. Each machine must be monitored to assure that it has sufficient coin/cash/scrip reserves to allow game play. However, the replenish interval can vary widely from machine to machine, due to factors such as the popularity of a particular machine, the location of the machine, the season, and other factors. The effect of these factors becomes especially difficult to determine for new machines. Since the gaming machines are in remote and often widely scattered locations, this involves a considerable effort. It also includes a risk of theft by employees retrieving the funds from the gaming machines, or even worse, robbery of the employees themselves.
At the same time, typical gaming machines are occasionally called to pay out large payouts. Such payouts may well exceed the funds available in the gaming machine itself.
In order to resolve some of these issues, many large casinos have turned to cashless gaming systems. In such systems, when the player cashes out, the gaming device issues a printed token with a manifestation of the cash-out value. The token can be inserted into another gaming device to continue play, or into a redemption machine to receive cash payment for the cash-out value.
While this system works reasonably well in large casinos with many gaming machines, it does not work well in more modest casinos such as those found in gas stations, restaurants, saloons and the like. Such installations do not generally include enough gaming machines to justify cost of a redemption machine. Further, such gaming devices with token printers/dispensers are more expensive to purchase and maintain (printers consume both paper and ink, and even systems with pre-printed tokens, such as that which is illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,598,788, which is hereby incorporated by reference, need to be periodically replenished with pre-printed tokens).
Hence, in small casino applications, some payout systems rely on attendants (who typically have other responsibilities, such as a cashier at a convenience store or gas station) to make or authorize payouts. A system such as this is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,763,998, which is incorporated by reference herein. It is also possible for the cashier to pay a portion of the cash-out value from cash obtained from one device, and the remainder from the cash register. For example, if the cash-out value is $132.00 and a cash dispensing device will only pay out values in $20 increments, the cash dispensing device may pay out $120.00, and the cashier may pay out the remainder from the cash register).
The interposition of an attendant between the player and the cash-out payment and the use of paper tokens has significant disadvantages. First, as described above, gaming devices that print cash-out tokens are more expensive and must be regularly maintained to replenish paper and ink. They are also prone to failure, and since the printed result itself has monetary value, such failures can require considerable attention on the part of the attendant to resolve. These responsibilities may detract from the attendant's other duties. It also raises the possibility of possible cooperative fraud involving a player and the attendant.
What is needed is a payout system that provides secure cash-out payments in a way that is sufficiently economical and convenient for use in small scale gaming operation. The present invention satisfies that need.